Ol' Conway

Born and raised on Bogue Sound, as a boy in the mid-1960s, I would shrimp summer nights with my Granddaddy Arch to earn money to buy school clothes for the coming year. I can remember one night shrimping, 8 or 9 years old at the most, and wanting to go to sleep. But Granddaddy says, "Mart, won't you stay awake a little while longer? You are going to miss out on a big tow of shrimp."

I went to turn in, but then decided I wouldn't go anywhere near that cabin. Unknown to me, Granddaddy had arranged for Ol' Conway to take my place in the bunk. Ol' Conway was nothing more than an old winter coat and hat with two gloves arranged to look like someone lying there to frighten me into staying awake. I'm sure Granddaddy got a big laugh out of that one. To this day the smells and sounds I experienced while on Granddaddy Arch's boat come back from time to time.